Integrating Pronunciation Strategies: Insights from Dr. Steininger’s Research and Second Language Acquisition

Introduction

The report aims to integrate Dr. Steininger's research findings on pronunciation strategies with second language acquisition theories to enhance my teaching and learning experiences.

In the lecture, several key concepts regarding the relationship between English phonology and lexical morphology were discussed. One concept is stress pattern and the other one is lexical morphology is not merely correlated with correct pronunciation; instead, it is intricately intertwined with it. To be specific, adding non-neutral suffixes can influence the stress and meaning of words, and this phenomenon is quite common. The research presented in the lecture yielded significant findings. It confirmed the potential of morpho-lexical knowledge in learning and teaching pronunciation. Participants in the experiments exhibited overall improvement in the pronunciation of derived words. Errors primarily surfaced in stress patterns of low-frequency vocabulary. Notably, participants emphasized the importance of primary stress in English words. In non-word categories, a regression was observed. The inspiration from this experiment for the techniques and strategies for teaching pronunciation mainly involves fostering pronunciation awareness. Specifically, addressing problematic sounds in class is crucial. This includes identifying problematic sounds through students' native languages. Emphasizing the quality of vowel sounds is essential. Finally, marking the primary stress in multi-syllabic words ensures that only vowels with primary stress are pronounced clearly, while other vowels are reduced to weak schwa sounds.

Main body

A response to the lecture

Importance of context in meaning, and how context affects different meanings in pronunciation

Context could be divided into linguistic context, situational context and cultural context（Song,2010, P.876）. Context plays an important role in understanding the meaning of language expressions. It helps eliminate ambiguities and determine the intended meaning of words. For example, the word 'bank' can refer to a financial institution or the side of a river, and the context helps clarify its meaning. Context also aids in understanding figurative and symbolic meanings, such as the phrase 'Kick the bucket' signifying someone dying within specific contexts.

In John Field's (2005) experiment exploring the impact of lexical stress placement on language intelligibility. The results indicated that the degree of comprehension impairment depends significantly on the direction of stress shift and whether it involves changes in vowel quality (P.399). Therefore, context affects different meanings in pronunciation mainly through rhythm. Gilbert (2008) explains the impact of rhythm is that changes in pitch provide cohesion and contrast, conveying new information and helping listeners understand how ideas relate to each other (P3).

The relationship between stress and lexical retrieval, and how the correct placement of stress impacts the way words are recognized and retrieved in spoken language

English speakers tend to store vocabulary items based on their stress patterns, as noted by Gilbert (2008, as cited in Brown, 1990; Levelt, 1989), which means we understand words not only from their individual sounds but also from their patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables (Yoshida, 2016, p. 82). Stress, in this context, is considered the most reliable and consistent feature of a word's profile. Words emphasized through stress convey the richest information in speech (Brown, 1990, p. 151). This understanding highlights the crucial role stress plays in comprehending spoken language, shaping the way we perceive and interpret words in a spoken context.

So, how do English speakers store vocabulary items based on their stress patterns? English speakers store vocabulary items based on their stress patterns because English is a stress-timed language. Speakers emphasize certain parts of the message while de-emphasizing others to convey complete information within a limited time. Native speakers naturally focus on the stressed parts to extract complete information. Additionally, recognition of stressed syllables, combined with the mental lexicon, helps listeners understand word meanings. Each word has a unique rhythm serving as its identification code in the mental lexicon. When a listener's mental lexicon has stored the correct pronunciation of a word, the retrieval process involves matching the pronunciation to the corresponding ID code. Successful retrieval results in a signal indicating understanding of the word and enables the individual to recognize it.

The value of using linguistic categories to teach stress patterns

In the lecture, Dr. Steininger's combined linguistic categories with stress patterns in his experiment. Linguistic categories refer to the classification of vocabulary into different word types such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on. Teaching stress patterns based on these linguistic categories can help learners identify the positions and rules for stress in different word types. This knowledge can then be applied to other words, enhancing learners' overall language awareness. For instance, in certain noun-verb pairs that exhibit distinct stress patterns, nouns are typically stressed on the first syllable while verbs are stressed on the second syllable（Yoshida,2016, P.86). Understanding this pattern enables learners to determine the part of speech of a word based on its stress, and vice versa. By using linguistic categories, teachers can simplify explanations and provide a clearer and more organized presentation of stress patterns.

Dr. Steininger's research and findings reflect what I have learned about language acquisition

In my personal journey of learning English, I have often favoured a dictionary-style approach to vocabulary acquisition - meticulously memorizing the spelling and pronunciation of each word. I rigidly believed that a word would always be pronounced the same, regardless of the context, even though I understood that words have stressed and unstressed syllables. Consequently, I frequently struggled to recognize words when encountered in real-life conversations, attributing it to the speakers talking too fast or my inadequate familiarity with the vocabulary. However, I failed to recognize the significance of English's rhythm and melody, as Gilbert pointed out:

The individual sounds of spoken English are constantly influenced by the communicative pressures inherent in prosody. As a result, prosody often distorts sounds to the extent that they become unrecognizable compared to their isolated pronunciation（2008,P.7）.

Hence, I concur with the notion that morpho-lexical knowledge plays a pivotal role in learning and teaching pronunciation. Understanding the fundamental principles of English pronunciation is akin to teaching someone to fish, surpassing the effectiveness of mechanical imitation and repetition.

Incorporating Dr. Steininger's Research into Teaching

Teaching different categories of suffixes to learners assumes that they already have a solid foundation and analytical understanding. For learners who meet these prerequisites, understanding various suffix categories can greatly assist in recognizing word stress, leading to accurate pronunciation and comprehension. By studying different suffixes, learners can more easily determine the parts of speech of words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on. Understanding the roles and rules of suffixes also aids in effortless word retention.

However, it is important to acknowledge that different suffix categories may involve complex rules and variations, which can require additional time and effort from learners. Memorizing various suffixes and their usage can increase the cognitive load, particularly for beginners. Moreover, it is crucial to consider that educational methods based on experiments conducted with university-level EFL learners may not directly apply to younger learners or low-level adult learners. Language acquisition and processing differ significantly between children, teenagers, and adults.

Therefore, when implementing these educational methods with younger learners, special attention should be given to the presentation style. Utilizing interactive methods like games, role-playing, or group activities can enhance engagement and foster a sense of enjoyment in learning. Integrating pronunciation knowledge into lively and captivating story contexts can also prove beneficial. For low-level adult learners, the sequence of learning becomes crucial. Teaching word stress should follow lessons on consonants and vowels while preceding lessons on sentence rhythm and intonation (Clore-Patron, 2018, P.38). This approach allows students to discover and summarize the rules themselves, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of pronunciation patterns.

References

Brown, G. (1977). Listening to Spoken English (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315538518

Clore-Patron, E. M. (2018). Teaching Word Stress: A Curricular Resource For Adult English Language Learners at the High Beginner/Low Intermediate Levels. School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects, 310. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/31

Field, J. (2005). Intelligibility and the Listener: The Role of Lexical Stress. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 399–423. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588487

Gilbert, J. B. (2008). Teaching pronunciation: Using the prosody pyramid. Cambridge University Press.

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). Context in Language. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-context-language-1689920

Song, L. (2010). The role of context in discourse analysis. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(6), 876.

Yoshida, M. T. (2016). Beyond repeat after me: Teaching pronunciation to English learners. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.